Presenter/Author Information

Type of Presentation

Oral

Session Title

Moving beyond education and outreach to behavior change

Description

Shoreline habitat conditions are important for forage fish, juvenile Chinook and other species using the nearshore throughout the Salish Sea. Shoreline bulkheads and other armor have been installed for decades and we now know that these can cause significant impacts to nearshore habitat function. While regulatory programs such as Shoreline Master Programs provide a mechanism for reducing the construction of new armor in Puget Sound and Straits, for most existing armor a voluntary approach for reducing or removing armor (and considering alternatives) is needed at this time. The National Estuary Program Nearshore Grant Program has funded a multi-incentive Shore Friendly social marketing program in order to change the social norm and motivate behavior change of waterfront property owners when it comes to shoreline armor. In 2015, San Juan and Kitsap Counties were among the five on-the-ground projects which have piloted these techniques. Both projects include a suite of incentives ranging from financial, technical site visits, and permit assistance. Big lessons have been learned thus far in these pilots reflecting the need to be willing to be nimble, responsive and open to learning that your assumptions were wrong. A major shift in our work involved messaging: we initially thought we would be using terminology and approaches based on the foundational research but we quickly learned that we needed to adjust our wording. Other factors that led to changes in our approaches have been increased knowledge of the receptiveness of homeowners to county-led efforts, learning what real estate agents really want to know, and communications within our jurisdictions. Overall, the projects have worked well but success has been built on the willingness of implementers to change course, act quickly and think outside the box.

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Shore Friendly in the Salish Sea: Lessons learned from working with homeowners and real estate professionals

2016SSEC

Shoreline habitat conditions are important for forage fish, juvenile Chinook and other species using the nearshore throughout the Salish Sea. Shoreline bulkheads and other armor have been installed for decades and we now know that these can cause significant impacts to nearshore habitat function. While regulatory programs such as Shoreline Master Programs provide a mechanism for reducing the construction of new armor in Puget Sound and Straits, for most existing armor a voluntary approach for reducing or removing armor (and considering alternatives) is needed at this time. The National Estuary Program Nearshore Grant Program has funded a multi-incentive Shore Friendly social marketing program in order to change the social norm and motivate behavior change of waterfront property owners when it comes to shoreline armor. In 2015, San Juan and Kitsap Counties were among the five on-the-ground projects which have piloted these techniques. Both projects include a suite of incentives ranging from financial, technical site visits, and permit assistance. Big lessons have been learned thus far in these pilots reflecting the need to be willing to be nimble, responsive and open to learning that your assumptions were wrong. A major shift in our work involved messaging: we initially thought we would be using terminology and approaches based on the foundational research but we quickly learned that we needed to adjust our wording. Other factors that led to changes in our approaches have been increased knowledge of the receptiveness of homeowners to county-led efforts, learning what real estate agents really want to know, and communications within our jurisdictions. Overall, the projects have worked well but success has been built on the willingness of implementers to change course, act quickly and think outside the box.